GEN News Highlights

uniQure Expands Gene Therapy Stable with InoCard Acquisition

(Page
1
of
1)

uniQure, which boasts the first and only gene therapy product to receive regulatory approval in the EU, Glybera, has acquired InoCard, an early-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of gene therapy products for cardiac disease. The founders of InoCard, Prof. Patrick Most and Prof. Hugo Katus, will join uniQure as managing director of uniQure in Germany and chairman of the scientific advisory board, for cardiovascular diseases, respectively.

uniQure, which completed a $91.8 million IPO in February, will give InoCard shareholders an upfront payment of €3 million ($4 million), and certain success-based milestones and royalties.

InoCard’s lead program is a gene therapy to express the calcium-binding protein S100A1, which is thought to be a master regulator of myocardial function. The therapy was developed based on Most’s and Katus’ discovery that S100A1 is downregulated in CHF and administration. According to the company, S100A1 has demonstrated in vivo beneficial effects on contractile force, growth control of heart muscle cells, and rhythm stability of the heart and is also able to adapt the heart’s energy supply to increased cardiac output. In a porcine heart failure model, treatment with InoCard’s gene therapy AAV-S100A1 reportedly demonstrated a 12-month survival rate of 90%.

“The acquisition of InoCard is a further demonstration of uniQure’s strategy to access the best early-stage programs in our industry and accelerate their development by the application of our proven modular platform,” commented Jörn Aldag, uniQure’s CEO. “There is strong scientific rationale that addressing calcium dysregulation leads to an astounding effect in congestive heart failure.”

Jobs

GEN Jobs powered by HireLifeScience.com connects you directly to employers in pharma, biotech, and the life sciences. View 40 to 50 fresh job postings daily or search for employment opportunities including those in R&D, clinical research, QA/QC, biomanufacturing, and regulatory affairs.

GEN Poll

Secure Science

Should bans on science education, of the sort imposed on Iranians hoping to study physics and engineering in the United States, encompass other nationals and other fields of study, including biotechnology?

No. Such bans could easily get out of control, preventing the sharing and growth of knowledge.

Yes. The potential, for example, for the development of bioweapons if biotech information gets into the wrong hands must be minimized.

No. Such bans could easily get out of control, preventing the sharing and growth of knowledge.

57.3%

Yes. The potential, for example, for the development of bioweapons if biotech information gets into the wrong hands must be minimized.

If you have any questions about your subscription, click
hereto email us or call at (914) 740-2189.

You may also be interested in subscribing to the GEN magazine, an indispensable
resource for everyone involved in the business of translating discoveries at the
bench into solutions that fight disease and improve health, agriculture, and the
environment. Subscribe
today to see why over 60,000 biotech professionals read GEN to
keep current in the areas of genomics, proteomics, drug discovery, biomarker discovery,
bioprocessing, molecular diagnostics, collaborations, biotech business trends, and
more.